Novak Djokovic has revealed that he received an apology from Carlos Alcaraz before his Australian Open semi-final win over Jannik Sinner. Djokovic needed five sets to defeat defending champion Sinner in Melbourne to book a place in Sunday’s showpiece match.

Earlier in the day, Alcaraz also needed five sets to beat Alexander Zverev in his semi-final to seal his place in the final against Djokovic. The win for Alcaraz was also the longest semi-final in Australian Open history at five hours and 27 minutes.

The amount of time it took to complete the match between Alcaraz and Zverev meant that Djokovic and Sinner’s match was delayed, and would not be completed until nearly 2am local time in Melbourne.

After claiming a win over Sinner, Djokovic revealed that Alcaraz gave him an apology whilst also explainng why he is relishing another final in Melbourne.

“I saw Carlos [Alcaraz] after the match, he said sorry for delaying the start of our match,” Djokovic revealed. “I told him I am an old man and I need to go to sleep early!

“I am looking forward to seeing him in a few days’ time.”

Djokovic was also quick to issue his appreciation for the fans who remained at Rod Laver Arena for the full length of the match until the early hours of the morning in Australia.

“Some legends stayed up until 2am, thank you for being here tonight and for the support,” Djokovic said. “You have been incredible. I love our passionate relationship.

“Tonight has been one of, if not the best nights atmosphere wise, support wise I have ever had in Australia. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Djokovic and Alcaraz will now rest up and begin preparations for Sunday’s final of the first grand slam of the calendar year, where the 10-time Australian Open champion admitted he hopes he will have enough energy to defeat his opponent after his win over Sinner.

“It feels surreal,” Djokovic said. “Playing almost four hours, coming close to 2am. I’m reminiscing about playing Rafa [Nadal] in 2012.

“The quality of tennis was extremely high and I knew this was the only way to win against him [Sinner]. He won the past five matches against me and I told him at the net thanks for allowing me this.

“He pushed me to the very limit. Tonight has been one of the – if not the best – support for me in Australia. I’m looking forward to seeing Carlos on Sunday, even though it feels as if I’ve won [the title] tonight. I hope I’ll have enough gas to stay toe-to-toe with him.”